Sunday 18 October 2009 19.05 EDT
First published on Sunday 18 October 2009 19.05 EDT

Life

9pm, BBC1

Best not to think of reptiles and amphibians as leftovers from the dinosaur age, says David Attenborough. Just look at the clever strategies our cold-blooded cousins have developed. The inch-long pebble toad, which never evolved a hop, instead bounces over rocks to escape tarantulas. The Jesus Christ lizard is named because it can race over water. As for nature in the raw, the extraordinary footage of huge Komodo dragons patiently hunting a buffalo is downright harrowing.

Glamour's Golden Age

9pm, BBC4

Between the wars, Britain felt the twin forces of grinding poverty and glamorous reinvention. As the Jarrow march of 1936 highlighted the plight of the unemployed, the decadence of art deco was crossing over from Paris. This thorough overview of the introduction of glamour to British life through design, technology and fashion is fascinating, particularly the way in which aspects of futurism tied in with then-fashionable ideas such as eugenics and, ultimately, fascism. As products were streamlined, it was suggested, so would be the human race; luckily, the war killed off such thinking in mainstream British life.

Murderland

9pm, ITV1

The first of a three-parter starring Robbie Coltrane as a detective looking into the murder of a mother and prostitute, with each episode looking at the case from a different perspective. Part one flashes back to 1994 when the murder occurred, and features Bel Powley in a superb performance as the victim's daughter. She herself falls victim to the "murderland" syndrome, obsessing over the crime, and striking up what others regard as an inappropriate friendship with Coltrane. Gripping stuff, which conveys the paranoid subjectivity of its lead character magnificently.

In Treatment

10pm, Sky Arts 1

The third week of therapy begins and In Treatment is improving with every episode. It's done such a deft job of manipulating our sympathies so far that each revelation, as it comes, feels considered, perfectly placed and yet still genuinely surprising. This week Laura keeps pushing the boundaries with her feelings for Paul, Alex takes control of his life, Sophie opens up about her coach, Jake and Amy react to the miscarriage and Gina presses Paul on his collapsing home life, bringing it full circle to question why it is that he continues to treat Laura.